𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲

INTRODUCTION
Catch up with Dr. Chatichai Chong and Syazwan Majid, Co-Founders of Arus Oil, a Malaysian company that tackles the issue of improper used cooking oil (UCO) disposal through a convenient app-based collection service. This service addresses the environmental problems caused by pouring UCO down the drain. They collect at least 5kg of used oil at a time from households and convert it into biodiesel fuel. While raising awareness about UCO recycling is a challenge, Arus Oil sees this as a crucial step towards a more sustainable future. By collecting and recycling UCO, they aim to reduce reliance on virgin palm oil, lower carbon emissions, and create a biodiesel alternative. Arus Oil plans to expand their service nationwide with the help of fundraising and public awareness campaigns.

Freda Liu (Host)
This is The Shift with Freda Liu. What’s the shift about? Whether it’s seismic or small, there’s a need to make a shift towards sustainability.

How are individuals and organisations doing this? It’s the collective effort of everyone. Now, what exactly do you do with your used cooking oil?

But please, don’t say you throw it down the drain. There’s literally money you’re throwing away, plus it’s not exactly great for the environment. So my guests today are co-founders, Dr Chatichai Chong and Syazwan Majid of Arus Oil.

And Arus Oil is an on-demand recycling platform for used cooking oil, or UCO. So full disclosure, I’ve invested with them through their ECF campaign. Hello, gentlemen.

Dr. Chatichai Chong (Co-Founder)
Hello.
Syazwan Majid (Co-Founder)
Hello.
Freda Li
Hello, young boys. I think like when we talk about used cooking oil, and then I said, you know, people throwing it down the drain, right? For comparison, what are more developed countries doing with their cooking oil in households?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, so essentially when it comes to used cooking oil and recycling used cooking oil in households. More developed countries such as Europe and China, or even US, they have a very high awareness in things where they have collection hubs of recycling points where people can drop off their used cooking oil.
But this works solely because awareness is there. Not just used cooking oil, other recyclables where people put the effort to go the extra mile to recycle the recyclables at a centre. Unlike in Malaysia where these kinds of things might not actually work.
Freda Liu
Okay, so you’re talking about awareness, right? And I’m just thinking in China, probably they say, we’ll fine you if you don’t.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, we will fine you if you don’t.
Freda Liu
And maybe, you know, a lot of these countries when they first started, they probably had to do sort of that kind of teaching before it became part of life.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, I think there was a lot of testing on how, what method works, where would the collection hub be placed, best suited to be placed and so on and so forth.
Syazwan Majid
They are most cost-efficient collection centres, right? I mean, Europe, I think one thing is that their awareness and I think they don’t really look at convenience so much.
It’s more like it’s an, it’s their effort in making the world better.
Freda Liu
Okay, so tell me about your platform.
Syazwan Majid
So Arus Oil is an on-demand recycling platform that enables households and businesses to recycle their used cooking oil conveniently at their doorstep. So this platform also enables them as a form of traceability for their used cooking oil that they have purchased and they have recycled.
Freda Liu
Okay, so when you say conveniently, how does, what’s the whole process?
Syazwan Majid
Right, so like you mentioned or like we mentioned just now, what Europe is practising right now is that they have collection hubs where consumers have to go to that collection point, right? And Malaysians, I think we rely a lot on convenience. So what we are doing is that we go to their doorstep, we go to that extra mile at to their doorstep and enable them to recycle their used cooking oil, provide them an outlet.
Freda Liu
And this is an app that you have?
Syazwan Majid
Yep, it’s an app.
Freda Liu
Okay, so it’s an app. I just say when I want to do this and all that. So what’s the update so far?
Syazwan Majid
The update?
Freda Liu
Yeah, so right now it hasn’t come on live or?
Syazwan Majid
Yeah, I mean, we’re live. We have about 4,400 users. We have 1,200 active recycling users that recycles about almost every month.
We do about 30 to 35 metric tonnes a month right now and we’re most active in Klang Valley.
Freda Liu
Now, this started as a business only a couple of years ago and you started this as a project four years ago. So, you know, and what’s consumer behaviour like, you know, just generally in Malaysia?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
So before we started off with the Arus Oil Digital Platform app, we did a project four years ago in our own taman. We are both from Subang Jaya, SS14, Budak Subang. So what happened is we placed a collection hub within a balai, balai penghuni, right?
So they were recyclables like plastic, cardboard, aluminium. So we added another one, which is used cooking oil. So we had a big drum there for people to drop off their used cooking oil there. So starting that project, expecting in a taman with 2,000 households to get a lot of UCO from that point. And it’s also a bit of an ageing community there lah. Our parents are there lah. Our parents, probably your parents are there. Everybody’s parents are there.
Freda Liu
So everyone is probably my age, but anyway.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
No, I think you’re still younger a bit. [Laughter] So we hope that they recycle a lot of used cooking oil. But it did not.
The outcome was bad. We got probably about 50 to 100 kgs per month. On top of that, there were other things where people don’t throw used cooking oil.
They throw other things like water or engine oil or whatever they feel like they want to pour, slurpee, whatever they want to pour, they just pour. So for us to have a collection hub, we decided that it has to be manned. Someone that detects this is UCO, then you can pour in it. But when it’s man, then your cost inflates. Your cost inflates, and the idea of people recycling just like that, it denies that idea. So we were tweaking around and thinking, how do we tweak the convenience factor?
So that’s when we came up with this app, this Arus Oil platform, where when you have oil, it’s always like, I just want to lepas today. I want to lepas today or tomorrow. I don’t want to wait for the recycling man to come once a month, or I don’t want to purposely go to somewhere far to recycle. So that’s where we have an on-demand recycling platform ah. So you just lepas on the app, you come and collect it at your doorstep.
Freda Liu
Okay, but there’s a minimum, right?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, so we have a MOQ of 5 kg. But there are times where people say they got 5 kg, but they actually have 2 or 3 kg. [Laughter] Yeah, but the trip was made there and done already, so we just carry on.
But the app gives us concentration and routing. So let’s say I’m going to Puchong, I am already collecting from three or four people. So if I’m going to collect another 1 kg from some IP.
Freda Liu
Why not.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Why not? Because we already accomodated that routing costing and the routing emission of carbon.
Freda Liu
So even when you did that project, was there money involved as an incentive or you know?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
At that time, there were incentives in forms of vouchers.
Freda Liu
Right, so even with incentives, it wasn’t enough. It was about convenience. At the end of the day, it’s still about convenience and all that.
Okay.
Now, so what actually happens with the UCO collected? What do you do with that after?
Syazwan Majid
So the UCO, once we have collected it, first thing that we do is we filter it. Once we filter it, we let it settle. So there’s separation between water and oil.
Then we drain the water and then we conduct a lab test on the oil. Once the lab test is conducted, that’s when we trade it as feedstock to a biodiesel manufacturer or a biodiesel plant.
Freda Liu
Okay, that’s all in Malaysia?
Syazwan Majid
Currently, right now, it’s being exported to Europe, but we trade it in Malaysia.
Freda Liu
Okay, so and your facility, what is the capacity?
Syazwan Majid
Yep, so our capacity right now is about 40 metric tons in one sitting. We churn about every 40 metric tons. That’s when we sell our used cooking oil.
The capacity of the factory can actually be about 120 metric tons, which is why we are raising money on this year. So that we can actually fund this upgrade for the facility.
Freda Liu
Okay, so the idea is that a lot of hotels will really know about this. The larger F&B operators really know about UCO, but it’s the households that needs to be converted.
Syazwan Majid
Yeah, that’s the market that we’re trying to penetrate because it’s a totally new category, right?
The F&Bs or hotels, it’s a fairly mature market. It’s more of a price competition.
Where we also differentiate is that we offer the traceability aspect. So it comes in a form of, it comes good for your sustainable reporting.
Freda Liu
And what’s the market potential of UCO in Malaysia?
Syazwan Majid
So you want to do that?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Okay, so in Malaysia, demographic speaks a lot. Social economy status speaks a lot.
But in Malaysia, we have about 7 million households with about 6 million which is occupied. And out of which there’s about a 30% of household with a…
Syazwan Majid
more than 4.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
With a household of more than 4, means mummy, daddy and 2 kids.
So technically a household of more than 4, usually they are the one that will be cooking. So a household of more than 4 should churn out or should consume, should buy about 5 kg of cooking oil every month.
So if you have 5 kg of used cooking oil every month, you should recycle at least 80% of that.
So that brings out to a figure of maybe 4 million times 4 kg per month.
Freda Liu
So as I was saying earlier on that like most hotels will know about this larger F&B operators, are they still a large part in the F&B that are not doing this?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
So domestically, all cooking oil bought into the domestic market, half of it goes to the F&B segment. Actually slightly more, about 60% goes to the F&B segment. Another 40% goes to the consumer household segment.
But when it comes to F&B and hotels, they have already been recycling and it’s just a price war with them. When it comes to household, it’s a new segment where a lot of people, sometimes money is not an issue. Sometimes I want to recycle because I want to recycle.
Really few people look at the money aspect of it.
Syazwan Majid
But coming to that Freda, on the F&B side, there are a lot of F&Bs who are over, or irresponsibly using this used cooking oil. So they’re using it over and over and over again.
And there are still some F&Bs who are pouring it down the drain as well. They have no idea or no outlet for this responsible disposal.
Freda Liu
So I think they actually have no idea.
Syazwan Majid
Yeah
Freda Liu
So these are probably like the standalone F&B outlets, right?
Syazwan Majid
Yeah, You’re right. So awareness comes hand in hand as well with convenience.
Freda Liu
When you talk about doing this and trying to change people’s mindset, that’s probably, I was going to say, what are the biggest hurdles in getting this off the ground?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
I think we emphasized it a few times. Awareness is the biggest issue. Compared to Europe, compared to US, Malaysia is very not matured yet in terms of recyclables and what can we recycle and where can we recycle stuff.
So the biggest hurdle is converting people that don’t recycle to be recyclable, recycling citizens of Malaysia. That’s the biggest hurdle. Because even for us, maybe when it comes to different demographics, we don’t deep fry.
We maybe shallow fry or we stir fry. So they always say, I don’t have much oil. I use one time, I use two times and then at the end of the day, I goreng my telur lah.
So I actually 100% eco-friendly. I use all my oil. But actually, in actual fact, there is a health risk to it if you reuse your oil over and over again.
Ingesting poorly saturated vegetable oil isn’t actually the greatest thing for you to be doing. If you can…
Freda Liu
This is the doctor talking ah.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
[Laughter] So the awareness of it is like, how many times you can recycle it? How many times can you refry it? And then after refrying it already, then you should store it and recycle it lah.
So a lot of people don’t know this fact for actual fact. Even converting my mother was a challenge. Converting Wan’s mother was easier because Malay.
Syazwan Majid
We fry a lot as well. We fry a lot.
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Converting my mother, which is my mother, which is very health conscious.
But she’s like, it’s so little, why I want to recycle? So now that is the biggest challenge we’re facing lah, awareness to it.
Freda Liu
Okay, awareness. And with the ECF fundraising, what were you going to do with that?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, so essentially we’ll be spreading our facility further nationwide. Of course, we’re neighboring states and trying to expand further. And then having more awareness campaign and also expanding our fleet.
So when it comes to recycling used cooking oil, there are two things to consider. Our cost and our carbon emission that we’re actually going to recycle used cooking oil to save carbon. So we have to make our fleeting system or routing system better through our system, through our platform App and also through our drivers that we have available.
Freda Liu
Okay, so if you look at this under sustainability, would this be under SDG 12, responsible consumption and production?
Syazwan Majid
Yep. Yep, exactly. I think we mentioned this now.
Some shops are overusing, right? That’s irresponsible consumption. So it falls under responsible consumption as well as, you know, production because we don’t rely on virgin oils too much as well.
So it’s actually an alternate source of energy or of any raw material.
Freda Liu
Okay. And I guess, you know, at the end of the day, like the warning, right? What are the pitfalls, right?
If we don’t take this seriously, you know, of addressing UCO, what are the pitfalls?
Dr. Chatichai Chong
Yeah, so if we don’t address UCO, if we all throw it down the drain today, what will happen to our longkang? It will sumbat lah. It will sumbat.
Then we have all the associating issues we did like kencing manis, dengi, kencing tikus and so on and so forth. And then the other thing is for you to bring cooking oil, virgin cooking oil, there is already a plantation and agriculture sector to it, which has already contributed to the carbon emission.
And now there’s a source for you to reuse this whatever that we have used and actually save up on the carbon emission collectively as a whole.
So then that would be a better thing lah. So why we really emphasize on this is trying to reduce the carbon footprint for every step of operation for us as a human being and as a company.
Freda Liu
Right, okay. How wonderful. So, you know, if you’ve got your use, cooking oil, again, don’t throw it down the drain.
Literally, figuratively, there’s money in it. So thanks again from Arus Oil, Syazwan and Dr Chatichai. Thanks.
This has been The Shift. Toodaloo.

*CONCLUSION *
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